Idaho state football playoffs start next week. Who’s in, who’s out and who needs help?
The final weekend of the Idaho high school football regular season always presents a dizzying array of possibilities. Everyone wants to know how their team can punch a ticket to state, and then what team they could play in the first round.
We broke down the scenarios from the 5A SIC to the 1A Division II Long Pin Conference in Southwest Idaho. Find your team to see what it needs to do this weekend.
5A SIC
Automatic playoff berths: Six
At-large berths: Two
Playoff field: 12 teams
Clinched: Meridian, Eagle, Rocky Mountain, Nampa
Eliminated: Boise, Timberline
Thursday’s games: (6) Timberline at (6) Owyhee
Friday’s games: (1) Eagle at (1) Meridian; (4) Kuna at (3) Middleton; (4) Capital at (3) Mountain View; (5) Centennial at (2) Nampa; (5) Borah at (2) Rocky Mountain (2)
Meridian hosts Eagle for the conference championship game Friday. The winner gets East Idaho champ Highland on its side of the bracket and will host a semifinal. The loser gets North Idaho champ Post Falls on its side.
That leaves everyone but Boise and Timberline to battle it out for their playoff lives. A win sends them automatically to the playoffs. Winners take the West’s No. 3 through No. 6 seeds on the bracket.
A loss leaves teams hoping for one of two at-large berths. The top-seeded at-large team travels to the winner of Coeur d’Alene vs. Lewiston in the first round. The last at-large team travels to the winner of Rigby vs. Madison.
Rocky Mountain: A win makes it the league’s No. 3 seed, which hosts the SIC’s No. 6 seed in the first round. A loss makes it the top at-large team at No. 11.
Nampa: A win and a Rocky Mountain loss make it the No. 3 seed. Wins by both Nampa and Rocky Mountain make the Bulldogs the No. 4 seed, which hosts the SIC’s No. 5 seed next week.
A loss drops it into a guaranteed at-large berth. It will be No. 11 if Rocky Mountain wins, or No. 12 if Rocky Mountain also loses.
Middleton: A win ensures it can finish no lower than the SIC’s No. 5 seed. It moves up one spot (and gets to host a first-round game) for each loss from Rocky Mountain and Nampa. It still makes the playoffs with a loss as an at-large team with at least one win from Rocky Mountain and Nampa.
Mountain View: A win makes it at least the SIC’s No. 6 seed. It moves up one spot for every loss from Rocky Mountain, Nampa and Middleton.
It still makes the playoffs with a loss as an at-large team if Rocky Mountain, Nampa, Middleton and Rigby all win. It misses the playoffs if at least two of those four lose and it loses, or if one of those four loses and Owyhee wins.
Kuna: Must beat Middleton to make the playoffs. It will be the No. 6 seed if Rocky Mountain, Nampa and Mountain View all win. A loss from each one of them moves the Kavemen up a spot.
Capital: Must beat Mountain View to stave off elimination. Even with a win, it will be seeded behind every winner but Borah and Centennial.
Borah: An upset of Rocky Mountain clinches an automatic playoff spot. It will be No. 6 unless Centennial also wins. It cannot rise above the No. 5 seed.
The Lions also have a path to the playoffs with a loss. They get an at-large berth if Rocky Mountain, Nampa, Middleton, Mountain View and Rigby all win. If one loses, Owyhee must also lose for Borah to advance.
Centennial: Must upset Nampa to become the league’s No. 6 seed. All other scenarios end the Patriots’ season.
Owyhee: Its best chances follow a win vs. Timberline. The Storm then make the playoffs if at least two of Rocky Mountain, Nampa and Middleton win. It would then be the No. 12 seed and the last at-large team. It climbs to No. 11 if all three win.
The Storm can make the playoffs with a loss as the No. 12 seed. But they would need Nampa, Middleton, Mountain View and Rigby to all win.
4A SIC
Automatic playoff berths: Two
At-large berths: Eight
Playoff field: 16 teams
Clinched: Bishop Kelly, Emmett
Eliminated: Caldwell
Friday’s games: Boise at Vallivue, 7 p.m.; Columbia at Caldwell, 7 p.m.; Emmett at Ridgevue, 7 p.m.; Bishop Kelly at Skyview, 7 p.m.
The league’s top two spots are spoken for. Bishop Kelly is the champ and Emmett is the runner-up. They will host first-round games next week. Opponents will not be determined until the final MaxPreps computer rankings are published over the weekend.
Everyone else must hope their resume impresses the MaxPreps rankings enough to grab an at-large berth.
No. 13-ranked Vallivue and No. 15 Skyview enter the week above the cut line. You never know what you’ll get with MaxPreps’ formula. But win, and they are in.
Even losses likely keep them in the playoffs. Skyview has the most to worry about. A loss to No. 1 Bishop Kelly will boost its strength of schedule. But No. 19 Century could steal an automatic berth by beating No. 12 Pocatello, possibly leaving the Hawks on the outside.
No. 18 Columbia and No. 22 Ridgevue need a lot of breaks. Wins are a must. But they need teams ahead of them to drop. They need Pocatello to wrap up the District Five title, and for No. 17 Idaho Falls, No. 16 Canyon Ridge and No. 14 Bonneville to all fall to have any chance.
Caldwell did not play a full league schedule this fall and is ineligible for the playoffs.
3A SRV
Automatic playoff berths: Three
At-large berths: Three
Playoff field: 14 teams
Clinched: Homedale, Weiser, Fruitland
Eliminated: None
Friday’s games: Weiser at Fruitland, 7 p.m.; McCall-Donnelly at Homedale, 7 p.m.; Parma at Payette, 7 p.m.
Homedale clinched the league title last week, but it still has plenty to play for Friday. Only the top two league champs in the 3A MaxPreps rankings get byes into the quarterfinals. The Trojans are currently No. 2.
No. 3 Weiser and No. 12 Fruitland jockey for playoff positioning Friday. Second and third place in the SRV standings don’t matter. Only the MaxPreps rankings do. A victory earns Fruitland a better first-round draw, but it’s unlikely to vault them past the Wolverines.
No. 13 McCall-Donnelly holds the last at-large berth entering the week. A wide lead over the next closest contenders (Filer and Payette) means the Vandals likely go to the playoffs even with a loss.
No. 16 Payette and No. 18 Parma theoretically remain alive. But a win against each other won’t improve their rankings much, barring a chaotic finish above them.
2A WIC
Automatic playoff berths: Two
At-large berths: Two
Playoff field: 11 teams
Clinched: None
Eliminated: None
Friday’s schedule: New Plymouth at Cole Valley Christian, 7 p.m.; Soda Springs at Marsing, 7 p.m.; Nampa Christian at Melba, 7 p.m.
Melba clinches the conference title and a bye into the quarterfinals by beating Nampa Christian. It can also win the league by losing by 13 or fewer points if Cole Valley Christian also wins.
Nampa Christian’s likely only path to the playoffs comes by winning the league, which it can do with a win and Cole Valley Christian loss. At No. 11 in the MaxPreps rankings, its chances of an at-large berth are slim.
Cole Valley takes the league’s second automatic bid with a Melba win regardless of how it fares Friday.
No. 6 Melba and No. 9 Cole Valley remain in strong position for an at-large berth should they fall out of the guaranteed spots. No. 17 New Plymouth and No. 19 Marsing are all but eliminated due to their low rankings.
1A Division I WIC
Automatic playoff berths: Two
At-large berths: Three
Playoff field: 12 teams
Clinched: None
Eliminated: None
Friday’s games: Notus at Rimrock, 7 p.m.; Idaho City at Wilder, 7 p.m.
Notus, Rimrock and Idaho City all remain in the race for the conference title and the league’s two automatic playoff berths.
Notus makes it easy and clinches the title and a bye into the quarterfinals by beating Rimrock. Idaho City then takes the second berth regardless of how it does vs. Wilder.
Rimrock must upset Notus and see Idaho City lose to climb into first. That makes Notus the No. 2 team.
Wins by Rimrock and Idaho City force a three-way, Kansas City tiebreaker for first and second place Monday.
Those automatic berths are crucial due to the league’s poor standing in the MaxPreps rankings. No. 7 Notus is the only one with any confidence making the playoffs via an at-large berth.
1A Division II Long Pin
Automatic playoff berths: Three
At-large berths: None
Playoff field: 12 teams
Clinched: Council, Garden Valley
Eliminated: Salmon River, Meadows Valley
Council has already wrapped up the conference title and a bye into the quarterfinals. Garden Valley is locked into the No. 2 seed and travels to the winner of Timberline vs. Lewis County next week. Only the third and final playoff spot is up for grabs.
Horseshoe Bend clinches it by beating winless Meadows Valley. Tri-Valley remains alive, but the Titans need to upset Council and see Meadows Valley score its first win.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 3:38 PM.
